FT Start-Up Stories Episode 6 - Making the most of failure
Nov 30, 2015
Alex Cheatle shares the harrowing near-death experience of his business amid the dotcom bubble burst. He discusses the emotional turmoil of layoffs and the resilience shown by his team. The conversation highlights maintaining core values during crises and how failure can be a springboard for innovation. Lessons on embracing setbacks as opportunities for growth and the necessity of transparency in learning from mistakes are emphasized. The episode showcases the critical journey from struggle to success in entrepreneurship.
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Landing First Customers By Asking For Meetings
- Alex Cheatle started 10 Group by cold-introducing himself to wealthy, busy people and asking for 15–20 minute meetings.
- Early customers gave real tasks and kept membership when the team solved at least half the requests well.
Acquisition Gets Easier Over Time
- Market familiarity and clearer explanations make customer acquisition faster over time.
- Alex notes that product improvements and word-of-mouth also reduce the effort to win new clients.
Survived Dot‑Com Collapse By Rebooting
- Aggressive dot-com era expansion left 10 Group loss-making and vulnerable when the bubble burst.
- Alex put the old business into administration, reopened assets in a new company, and kept most core staff long-term.
